I’m currently reading The Duke and I and the author is constantly using the word “acerbic”. I had never heard of the word before now and had to google the definition. The word has shown up so much that I’m tempted to go through the book and count its appearances lol.

Have you noticed any authors having favorite words that they use page after page?

  • hurl9e9y9@alien.top
    cake
    B
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    The Southern Reach series by Jeff Vandermeer (Annihilation, etc.):

    Terroir: 37 times

    Banal: 20 times

    Mote (as in dust mote): 11 times

    Somewhat rarely used words that I would have overlooked a couple instances of, but just so heavily used in these books that it was laughable.

    • solaramalgama@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      To be fair, words infecting people is a whole ass plot point, and a pretty central one.

      “You prefer this place, you really do, don’t you?”